Kim's World

Daddy

2009-06-21T09:50:00.002+08:00

I thought I would never write again in this blog again but this is where my heart really is. Today I feel the need to be where I should be, right here.

My father has long departed the physical world but he never fails to remind me of him in photos, in dreams, in my art, in my appreciation for music, in my struggles and in my successes.

He's always been there and I would love to put him on the spotlight again.

This is your day Daddy. I hope you are happy wherever you are.

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there. Your children are proud of you.

Moving On

2009-02-16T10:41:00.002+08:00

I am moving on to a new blog:

"kim under the sun"

mom in cebu

2008-06-05T02:08:00.004+08:00

“My,” “Mi” or “Me.” It depends on who among the three of us is texting mom. I prefer “my” as shorthand for “mommy.”

Mother-daughter bonding proved to be a somewhat effective. She stayed with me for a short time February of this year. Weeks before that, my boyfriend’s mom died of her cancer treatment complications. She was a breast cancer survivor for 10 years but another lump showed up somewhere and became her reason to rest. I realized I’m still lucky to have my mother around despite our colorful relationship. So we met halfway in Iligan City where we attended the funeral and from there we departed for Cebu.

Our Cebu experience was filled with both disagreements and laughs. She rarely visits me but this was the first time that she stayed a little longer than usual. Everyday I make funny faces at her and she would comment that my psychotic side shows up every time I do that and that I would never make that face in front of my boyfriend. Partly, she’s right but I didn’t care. I was just happy to have someone sleep on the extra bunk in my room. I’ve been living in Cebu for more than 9 years now and spent the most recent years without a roommate.

The first tourist spot that came to mind was the Taoist Temple. I knew she would like to see the place again. I saw her sitting on the same flight of stairs about 30 years ago in a picture in sepia tone. She said she couldn’t remember much because they were in a hurry finishing the city tour and it seemed to her that moment took only a second. This time we took a picture with her daughter in it:

I wasn’t sure where else to bring her. Time and schedule were constraints so I opted to bringing her to one of the places I frequent – BTC (Banilad Town Center). A lot of special memories happened here and I thought it would be just right to also bring her to this place. She ordered her regular beer and I ordered mango shake. Recalling, I now thought it was funny but it was because I needed to stay sober. I suggested she try the new generation formula but she still likes Pale Pilsen better.

Everytime she visits Cebu, she never fails to visit the Sto. Niño Cathedral and Magellan’s Cross. I wasn’t so much of a fan of the place. I have my reasons but I actually learned to appreciate the place. As tradition, we lined up to see the image of the child Jesus. The place was renovated since she last came and so my mom posed away as I took shots. She wanted all her 100+ pictures printed but I told her digital copy is the new thing but she insists having something to hold in her hand is different from staring at her PC screen.

All I can say is that she’s charming in her own ways. I felt like I was even older. My taste for color is more conservative than hers. I remember her playing The Sims game and tiling her bathrooms with black and white. She said she liked it that way. Now she’s renovated our bathroom back home. I haven’t seen it but I’m sure it looks better than the last time I was home. I’m confident in saying that because I remember how she transformed my sister’s room into a very cozy den. The leopard-print sheets on the bed makes you want to dream away and the opaque pale blue curtains softens the sunlight going into the room. The mood was so calm it makes me long to always sleep in a room like that.

Mom’s back home and I’m sure she’s enjoying preparing her well-loved spaghetti, baking her signature brownies, designing jewelries or just crocheting. She’s a natural artist and a free soul. Some part of me says it’s too domesticated and another part of me says I want to do just that.

BOHOL

2008-01-02T10:17:00.000+08:00

This is a beatiful view of the famous chocolate hills from Sagbayan. They're green because it was rainy season during the last week of November. You can get really close to the hill if you want:

It's not just the hills in Sagbayan, we've also got bonding moments with our dear tarsier friend:

He's so tiny I bet you can't see him. Here's a closer look:

There's only a few of them left in the wild so you can't touch him or let the camera flash at him.

Since we were already there, we couldn't miss the view from the famous site in Carmen:

We couldn't resist to fly and so we did:

Loboc is just close so we had to check it too. My sister (sporting a blue top) was kind enough to be my model for some of the shots. There's the Loboc river, museum, the unfinished bridge which is supposed to demolish the church if they get it done and of course the church and the bell tower. Horseback riding at night is thrilling especially when you have to maneuver the horse to climb a steep slope.

The car finally broke down because of too much adventure and we had to take public transporation which added more fun! Panglao island deserved to be the ultimate destination.

Thanks to my friend for making all these possible. I will definitely go back. 8-)

Antulang Beach Resort

2008-01-02T09:53:00.001+08:00

My second time to visit Dumaguete was 3rd quarter of 2007. It's one place I can't miss. While there we visited Antulang Beach Resort. Photos are from my cousin. I can't wait to be back there!

SHANGHAI

2008-01-02T08:51:00.000+08:00

It was Autumn so it was getting cooler and the temperature drops after every rain. My one week of work in Shanghai was good and we had the chance to check some of the cities' famous sites.

Here's a picture of me at Pudong. Right across are the beautiful night lights of Puxi (the East side):

We never missed The Bund of course:

And there were other wonderful sites:

The food was nothing so different because Chinese food is also common in the Philippines but it was my first time to be eating authentic Chinese food and struggling with my chopsticks. We had a few exotic food like frogs and black chicken since we rarely have these on the lunch table. Western food and other types of cuisine are also available. ;)

Shopping is great if you have enough RMB or Yuan. US Dollar wouldn't be hard to exchange but the charges will kill you. We had our money exchanged in Hong Kong which is our last stop to the city. They say it is best to have your money exchanged where you are from so you won't lose too much RMB.

Chinese silk purses and garments are very common and can be cheap. I bought myself purses for only 5 RMB each but it depends on your bargaining skills. At the very first store we came across, I bought the same exact purse at 20 RMB because I was too excited. Our Chinese friends helped us with the bargaining since most of the locals speak only a little bit of English. My Filipino colleague made the best bargains using gestures and calculators to communicate the price she wanted. So if you go shopping in Shanghai make sure you have a lot of energy stored for the action.

On our last day, we strolled back to the hotel and found small bookstores along Weifang Road in Pudong. Paper stationery and pens are cheap and I got myself a diary. If you love stationery then you should check these stores.

Too bad I didn't find yarn or craft stuff in the places we checked. There must be a lot of them lying somewhere. In one of the malls we visited, I saw a lady knitting while she was waiting for a customer.

Overall, Shanghai is a highly urbanized city and less traditional than I've expected. However, Chinese culture is still everywhere which makes the city very unique. I would still want to visit the place again and hopefully see more of the traditional places.

Where was I?

2007-05-03T09:56:00.000+08:00

I've become a workaholic for a brief period but managed to go to Bantayan Island, Cebu last summer.

It's a really great place to visit especially during summer time when the white sand and clear waters are highly accentuated by the midday sun and the weather is supportive of water adventures such as island hopping. We went to a small island which the locals refer to as Virgin Island. It's a 30-minute boat ride from the island's main port.

The place reminds me a lot of my childhood. I once lived in Mati, Davao Oriental. If you look at the map, it's somewhere at the tip of Mindanao where there are lots of great white beaches. I want to visit the place again someday.

Company Parties

2006-12-08T10:11:00.000+08:00

Some of the things I like about working for a company are the parties. I found some beautiful pictures and I thought they would look nice on the web.

Taken during our sportfest culmination by some colleague:

And recently we had our Christmas Party. It's company practice to celebrate it on the 1st of December but we ended up having it on November 30 because of the holidays. Some teammates strut their stuff on stage:

I think there's enough inspiration to get me working. 8-)
::more band pics here::

Ecstatic

2006-11-09T14:41:00.000+08:00

It was past 9 PM last night when my colleague sent me a text message containing just one word. I wasn't so sure what he meant so I just told my boyfriend Jun that the exam results could already be in. I was making him feel more nervous as he was trying to check the internet on his cellphone. I didn't want to intervene but the little thing just wasn't helpful.

I just formatted my PC and so it was making things more tense as I was still installing the driver of my mobile phone. After successfully installing it and connecting to the internet, we downloaded the pdf file.

I gave him the mouse. He didn't want to hit ctrl+F because he preferred to scroll down the long list. Before I even finished reading his name, he already screamed and I could feel the sound waves moving my ear drums. Ecstatic is what he felt and I felt the same way. The feeling was familiar. I remember having the same energy when I passed the licensure examination last year.

Phone calls and text messages started coming in. Happiness and gratitude was consuming us. Before cleaning up my inbox, I took one last look at the message my colleague sent me. It said, "Engrs!." It was a moment I wanted to last forever.

http://newsinfo.inq7.net/examresults/20061108_ECE1106.pdf

In love with San Francisco

2006-10-31T15:46:00.000+08:00

Even if I'm back in my country and doing all the stuff I normally do, the memories of my very short trip to the US still linger. I have developed this affection for San Franciso and everything else beautiful in America. I managed to have another trip to the Golden Gate before finally going back home. My aunt took a picture of me and my cousin and I'm glad it turned out good.

I just miss the place. It's unusual of me to have this kind of feeling because I am the kind of person who prefers to stay home. I never imagined that there could be a much wonderful world out there. Somehow my 3-week training has radically changed my view about living. For someone who lives in a third-world country, it felt like a dream being able to visit such a beautiful place.

Each time I get home and turn my PC on, my wallpaper shows me standing somewhere in the coasts of CA. But to someone else, it could be just some professionally edited picture. Everything that happened have turned into pictures and memories that I hope will last forever.

GA Aquarium

2006-10-11T12:42:00.000+08:00

I've never been to an aquarium in my life until my mentor and his wife brought me to GA aquarium. It was huge and there were different sections. I couldn't remember what we explored first. Let me just show you some of the beautiful creatures.

I think the rays and hammerhead sharks were the first that I saw and touched. They also have those colorful coelenterates. It's funny because they also have breaks and I couldn't resist taking a picture of the sign. They've got a lot of those freshwater fishes most of which came from the Amazon River. The very colorful ones are African fishes....

These Belugas are just so adorable. Everything about them just amazes me - the way they swim, their size, their grace.
Here's the friendly neighborhood - playful seals and otters, and cute penguins from the cold waters.To me, the most amazing is the Ocean Voyager. We walked through the acrylic tunnel and watched the whalesharks, groupers, sting rays and more swim right above us. There were about 6 million gallons of saltwater so they had to use acrylic to hold all that.
The groupers were just huge. I like the grouper on the right, it was always up for the cameras. I managed to take a shot of its face.

And a lot other wonderful creatures....

You can visit their site if you want to know more:
http://www.georgiaaquarium.org

Baseball

2006-10-05T19:43:00.000+08:00

I'm not really into sports. The only sport I know how to play is table tennis or locally called "ping-pong" and billiards, if you consider that a sport. My mentor and his wife brought me to the Turner Stadium in Atlanta. I was in awe watching the huge crowd and listening to their cheers. My mentor thought I wasn't enjoying it because I didn't look very excited but deep inside I was grateful for having my first baseball game.

The Braves won the game anyway.

Long Weekend

2006-09-29T13:31:00.000+08:00

The 4th of July weekend happened to be my 2nd weekend in GA. My colleagues and I decided to drive all the way to Washington D.C. It took us about 12 hours on the road. When we reached Arlinton, VA, we got lost looking for our hotel. Thanks to our guides: a book, maps and some printed material from google maps.

The 2nd day was a quick tour around Washington D.C. We left the car at the hotel because parking would be bad and we wanted to be more mobile. So we headed to Pentagon City with not much idea what to do. We went down the subway and purchased train tickets which was good for a day's use.

When we finally got to the our destination, the streets were unusually calm and there were too few people on the streets. I realized that it was still so early in the morning. We had a little argument among ourselves about where to go first. We walked until we reached the Washington Monument. I couldn't believe I was there.

A day is not enough to tour the whole city so we only got to visit several spots like the exterior of The White House, The Capitol and a few Smithsonian Museums. We just took pictures of almost everything we found until the batteries went dead. We walked under the scorching heat of the sun, joining thousand other tourists of different cultures who seem to have the time of their lives.

On the third day, we went back to the Washington D.C., this time with a car. My colleague said he couldn't go home until he gets to see the Lincoln Memorial. And so we did. We got lost on our way home but we eventually got back to the Interstate.

We reached GA very late in the evening. On the 4th of July, we went to a Filipina friend's home. We call her Tita Nora. We grilled some patties and hotdogs - typical 4th of July food. We feasted until we got tired. That's one of the long weekends I've had.

Duluth and Atlanta, GA

2006-09-27T17:17:00.000+08:00

I stayed in Duluth during my short training. It's a suburb about 45 minutes away from downtown Atlanta.

2nd day in CA 06.23.2006

2006-09-27T17:03:00.000+08:00

I went on a roadtrip with my cousin Dave and his fiancee. I didn't expect to wear the same coat....

First Day in SFO

2006-08-09T16:09:00.000+08:00

My Company Training was scheduled to start on a Monday but I arrived in SFO on a Thursday. Still jet lagged, I managed to stay awake until past midnight. I couldn't afford to sleep because I didn't have all the time.

I was supposed to arrive in L.A. but good thing my relatives convinced me to stop over in SFO where they are all close to staying at. The first day I arrived, I was a bit nervous waiting for my aunt to pick me up at the airport. A little chitchat with a black guard in the arrival area made me loosen up. The khaki blazer I was wearing was just too thin for the strong cold breeze but still I'm glad my smile didn't show that I was already stiff. 8-)

Cebu Beach Club

2006-08-02T18:08:00.000+08:00

Island in the Sky

2006-08-02T18:05:00.000+08:00

2006-05-08T13:39:00.000+08:00

This photo was taken by a colleague while on training in the U.S. I picked it out of the pile because I couldn't stop gazing at these cute little kids.

2006-03-16T16:28:00.000+08:00

Whoa! I just realized one thing. Hardly anybody reads my blog. And if there's that anybody, that's me! I have to congratulate myself for making an online diary that's private without trying so hard to keep someone from reading it. Unlike when I keep a real journal, I had to keep it somewhere no one else can find. I remember throwing away my first diary back in grade school. It was a stupid thought. But I was just too scared my mom would read it and find out about the apple of my eye (cheesy phrase but that's how I really put it there, LOL). I shouldn't have thrown that precious thing away. Too bad I found out only now that my mom is not much into reading. But I am not hiding anything here. I am an open book (well, not entirely).

I am just updating my blog. I don't want to be one of those people who starts a blog and never get back to it. This is my first blog though it is not the original one because I deleted my ever first blog. It contained a lot of negative energy so I thought that I should start new. I think I'll republish some of my old blogs - I got them sent to my yahoo mail so I saved some of them.

Ok, so here I am blogging but the thing that I really want to do is to publish my art. Which art? I haven't been using my art tools lately but I guess it's time to open the toolboxes and mix all the colors I want. I often get messy when I'm creating something but I found an alternative to that - digital art. Thanks to the architechs of Adobe and Corel. All I need is the right software, a PC and the accessories to materialize the art that's flooding in my head. Sad fact is, I don't have all the time to do art. Most of my ideas die with the sunrise. I wake up every morning forgetting what I wanted to make the day before that. Good thing is, the brain never gets tired of giving births (take note of the 's').

I think I've talked too much. But this is what a blog is all about. It is my mind being converted into text in a page. Right? This is probably all for now, got much to do. 8-)

post Vday

2006-02-22T16:27:00.000+08:00

I haven't put in any cute note about Vday but I did wrote a few stuff for my boyfriend. He always makes me think I am lucky and of course loved. This page is nothing about love but rather fragments of my complex mind.

I am a little glad that boredom strikes again. It converts my mind into a idea-generating machine.

I don't always visit this place but everytime I do, I wish to put in a little bit of my complex mind. There are just soooo many things I want to write about but I'm too lazy to get a pen and paper (I can't afford a laptop yet). Hmmm, there's a lot of stuff to get off my mind.

First Thing in the Mind

One thing that's bothering me is the Leyte Tragedy. The mud's covered all of St. Bernard and until now I am hoping that a miracle could still happen. As I sit in the office, I always hope that somebody could be pulled up alive out of the earth. People might think that I am wishfully thinking but I'd rather think of positive things because my heart will sink deeper if I have to remind myself of the people (dead or alive) who are trapped underneath. I remember what a columnist wrote, "For Filipinos, happiness is a tool for survival." We know so well that our country has been plagued by tragedies and disasters so the only affordable thing that could help us going is to be happy. And I think that's what I am trying to do. I know my life is full of S*&# but I don't stop going. I will continue walking even if it rains. If the rain gets harder, I believe stopping for a short while wouldn't hurt. But remember to continue walking after the rain!

Sentimentalism

I think I have been too sentimental for the past few days. I blame it on all the sad news I read in the newspapers and on the internet. But my sentimentalism is considerable. I'd say that because it motivates me to find answers to questions and problems that disturb me once in a while. I guess great thinking comes when we are at extreme emotions. But I have to control myself. I remember my grandpa telling me that sentimentalism is no good. I think he always says that because he gets to spend time with us only very seldom and he doesn't want us to feel lonely or to miss him too much. But he never said that it can be totally eradicated. We all get sentimental sometimes, because we are just humans.

Time

I don't have all the time in the world to write on this page. Time is so precious for me. I used to not care about my time. I remember always being late for school. I pull out the weeds off the ground every morning in grade school because I couldn't make it to the flag ceremony. At least I share the activity with my brother (LOL). And in high school, I was the 2nd to the last person (I'm glad I'm not the worst) who gets up from bed and exit the dormitory. Tsk3. I was soooo punctual, watches and clocks do me no good. Even in college, I was late or even absent if the teacher doesn't care about attendance. But now that I'm working, I can't afford to be always late. If I am, I'm sure my boss would sack me! But I admit getting late a few times. We just can't get rid of thick traffic and sleepless nights (hmmm what could I have been doing?). Well, the older we get the busier we become.

Independence

I believe I have become a very well-rounded person. But I don't want to be called a Jack-of-all-trades. I want to have at least one expertise. Too bad I haven't discovered that skill yet. Independence is my friend. Every since I got my own room, I have become more responsible. And that's a very good thing for me. I began doing my laundry at an early age but I have not perfected the skill. I can wash all my clothes but I could never get my white shirts white or the sheets stain-free. I have never cleaned the tiles in our bathroom back home. But now, I couldn't stand stains on my bathroom floor! I have developed this hobby of spending too much time in the detergents/cleaners section in the supermarket looking for the perfect stain remover. I still got stains in my bathroom but I promised myself I'm going to get rid of them all someday (I wish that day comes, :sigh:). But I still feel incomplete because there is one more thing I need to learn - cooking. I haven't made a decent dish my whole life (except for spaghetti - if you consider that dish). I envy the girl in the Korean TV series "Only You". I wish I can become a good cook just like her (:dreaming:).

I guess I have been typing for almost an hour now so I better stop before this page turns into eternity. This is all for now. I'm glad I have unloaded a little bit of stuff off my mind.

Lolo Ed

2006-01-12T12:07:00.000+08:00

This is a simple greeting I managed to make for my Lolo's 86th birthday. That is still tomorrow but being a day early wouldn't hurt I guess. I want to grow old just like him. The picture on the lower right hand corner is my sister and my brother and me.

My Lolo Ed is the best grandpa in the world. Of course, that is to me. Since I was a kid, he was always there for me. Mentoring me and teaching me how the world is like.

He knows well that I have all grown up. The things we talk about have changed from toys to making a living and even about getting a lifetime partner. But even if I have matured, I will always be his little granddaughter who's always excited when he has her grandpa around.

Holidays

2005-12-22T15:21:00.000+08:00

I can't hide the excitement about going home. I haven't been back home for almost a year now. Too bad I need to work a thousand miles away from home. But that's ok. The end of the year always gives me a thrill. I giggle like a child whenever I think about what's in store for me this Christmas.

I am not even a teenager anymore but I still look forward to getting presents. I'm just glad I got a grandpa who always sees to it that I get something. Not that I demand but he always knows. I have written him letters since I was a kid. I remember him showing me one of the first letters I wrote him. It was funny. It included a list of things that I wanted to get from him. I look to him like he's Santa Claus, Christmas season or not. And whenever he comes home or sends a package, there is always something for me.

The things that always topped my list was a Barbie doll. I can't count how many times I have reiterated in my letters that I really wanted doll, and it should be a Barbie. I have developed an obsession for barbie dolls and I guess my mom started it. My grandpa did gave me a Barbie and then Barbies. I also remember getting this huge Care Bear. It was so big, I could hardly hug it with my little arms. We would sit on the stuff and let someone drag us all around the house. Of course our tastes for presents change as we grow up. I don't remember exactly when I started wanting hi-tech stuffs. I have a few collection now though some of them had to go.

This Christmas, I am expecting something special again. I am grateful there is always something to look forward to. And this Christmas, it won't be just the presents I am expecting to get. I look forward to spending time with my loved ones. I can see I have grown older because I have wanted less of the physical stuff though getting one still makes me feel good. But no matter how we spend our holidays, be it gift-giving or simply chillin out, I just want to great you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

beads

2005-12-09T13:31:00.000+08:00

I just love beads but got not much time for them. That's my aunt wearing one of our creations. The necklace was actually made and designed by my beloved brother. The picture's not that good. Next time, I'll post better ones. ;-)

Stockings, anyone?

2005-12-08T18:47:00.000+08:00

This looks more like a boot. Hahaha. :-D But that's ok because our team won the company's Christmas Sock contest. I know it should be stockings but we prefer using socks, right?